Vehicle-wheel.



C. M. BARTHOLOIVIEW.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, I6, I9I4.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

MEW

C. Nl. BART HOLO LE WHEE ILED FEB,16.1914.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICA Illl Y CASSIUS IVI. BARTEOLOMEV, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, .ASSIGNOR'LOFDNE-THIRD T0 HENRY y1).`BR/15H0LOMEW', 0F NEWARK, OHIO.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Patented Aug.' 24, 1915.

Appiication.niedarebruary ie, i914. :seriaumeiaezsa To all whom it may concern .Be it known that I, CAssrUs M. BARTHOL- OMEW, a citizen of the 4United `States, residing at Columbus,.in.the county of Franklin. and .State ofV Ohio, .have .invented .certain new and useful Improvements .in `Vehicle- Wheels,.of=which.the following is a specification.

V.My .invention relates Vto `vehicle .wheels yand more particularly to that type of vehicle wheelin -whichthe center of oscillation for steering purposes, is carried in the center `oscillation is=outsi`de of the wheeland the wheel vstrikes an obstruction, the natural tendency `will be for it .to move about its point of .oscillation whereas if fthis ,point is within Vthe hub structure itself, the .center of rotation .and the center-of oscillation are in the same point. I Vaim to provide a structure of .wheel vof .this type in which the moving parts are all protected against the entranceofdirtand grit -toprevent wear during its normal-operation. I also aim to provide a novel type of bearing structure in lorder that 4the wheel itself may vbe osci1 lated 4with comparative ease.

The novel features of the specific structure used by me, willbecome more 'apparent after a further .detailed .description of the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts, and in which:

Figure 1 isa central vertical section of my inventiomshowing the major portion of the wheelbrokenraway, F ig. v2is. ahorizontal section .through the .casing member carried by the spindle of the wheel and with .the internal structure removed, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the structure .removed from Fig. 2, Fig. a is a view'inperspective showing myinvention assembled, Fig .is a seotion Ytaken4 on the curved line 5 5 of Fig. 3, and,'Fig. 6 is-a horizontal section through my invention, showing the parts in one eX- treme position of movement.

In the drawings, I have shownl a ,portion of a wheel whose hub structurels.designated in its entirety by the reference :numeral 1,

which `hub vstructure is rotatable labout a spindle2. Inasmuoh -asthe particular type .of internallconstruction ofthe Lwheel is not new, wherever l may refer to a spindle, I

.mean -such, structure as yeither permits the rotation of a wheel thereon, as the front wheel ofanordinary automobile,.or.a structure by which the -wheel .-is `actually driven, .such as the .rear xwheel. A.roller bearings .and 1c-are -shown as being mounted upon .this spindle, which :roller .bearings cooperate vwith :the hub casing .5to permitV rotation of thewheel as a whole.

In Fig. l, suitable The spindle 2 lrigidly carriesy a .sectoral cas- .ing`6 which casing is yformed with a closed orfsolid-rear :wall 7 and a slotted'front wall,

y.this front wall being formed by the :up- -standingfflange anda downwardly extending liange 49. These flanges '8 and 9 extend `toward the .main .axle 10 of athe 'vehicle a distance .to permit its free .movement laterally during-.the .normal 'steering operation.

rlhe -topvand -bottom walls 11 vand l2 thus formed, .are-'each provided with removable Arace members ..13 and 14 frespectively, .these -i-ace vmembers being provided with ways to coperate with the bearing balls l5. I have .also ,-shown; a fgrease cup :16 asbeing v:in communication'with the upper raceway, but the Voiling y.feature may be takencare of in anyA .desired .mannen The lower race member 14 i-s .adjustable vertically'to adjust the distance betweenthe two race members, this .adjustment being effected `by 4the lprovision of.aplurality of screws 17 threaded .into the ylower 4wall 12 and bearingagainst.y a follower member shown at 18. rlllhe sectoral casing .G'hasits .center in the center of the wheel and `.ils .normally constructed yso that its ver- .tical end-sare open, but held closed by the ,provision .of end caps 19 held in position by `screws '.20 or other suitable attaching It will lthus bezapparent ythat this sectoral casing is closed on all sides with hthe exception of the slotted opening in its rfront wall, v.the interior of this casing being adapted to house the upwardly and ydawnwardlyfextending arms21 and 22 integrally formedupon the ends of the aXle 10. These arms21and 22 are also of a greater width thanfthe Width of the axle 10, but .are not ofasize 'to completelyocoupy the interior of ftheioasing. Both the arms 21 and 22 vare also ,provided with `compleniental racelways 23 into which .the bearing balls 15 are adapted to seat themselves. These bearing balls are provided in order to reduce to a minimum the amount of force required to change the position of the wheel as regards steering and in order that these balls may not be forced against opposite walls of the raceways, I have provided each ofthe arms 21 and 22 with vertical chambers such as are shown at 24, these chambers communi cating with the raceways 23. In the base of each of these chambers I have placed a spring 25, carrying an engaging head 26 at one end. As the wheel is oscillated as is done in steering, the balls are permitted to rotate about their own center and move longitudinally in the raceways. After they have reached the extreme end of their travel,

they will be forced downwardly into one or the other of the chambers against the tension of the respective springs, while the springs upon the opposite sides will act in a complemental capacity to force an additional ball or two up to a position to perform its function. The outside ends of these channels or those ends which communicate with the raceways 23, are preferably formed of a nature to eliminate all play and to do this, I have found it desirable to initially bore the chamber 24 and to subsequently press a portion of metal into position to give the formation, such as is shown at 27.

In order that no dust or grit may enter the working parts of the steering connection, I have provided a peculiarly novel shield structure and have also provided the axle 10 with small outwardly projecting shoulders 28, these shoulders being concentric with the curvature of the interior of the casing and being adapted to slide in channels formed for this purpose in the ends of the flangesL 8 .and 9. The shield structure proper comprises plates 29 and 30, secured to the arm projections of the axle member 10 preferably by doubling one end back as is shown at 31 and then forming a right angular bend, such as is shown at 32, the

. latter end serving as the attaching end and held in position by screws 33. The opposite ends of these plate members 30, are crimped to form channels such as shown at 34, these channels being adapted to coperate with hooks 35 formed upon one end of each of the complemental plate members 36. All of these plate members 30, 3l and 36 are of a height to conveniently slide in the channelways which engage the outwardly projecting lugs 28 and which are more clearly shown at 37 in Fig. 2. These plate members are also preferably of a resilient nature to at all times force them into their outermost position. The purpose of the jointed connection which is effected by the channels 34 and hooks 35, may be clearly illustrated inr Fig. 6, in which the wheel is shown as being moved to one extreme position and in which case the plate member 36 has disengaged itself from the channel 34 and has slid over the top of the complemental plate member 30 to produce a result similar to that attained by telescoping parts. It willbe understood that the inherent resiliency of these plates will be such that they will again come into engagement when the wheel is moved to the opposite extreme position.

From the foregoing description, it must be apparent that I have provided a type of steerable wheel in which the center of oscillation is located in the center of the wheel itself, the structure being lsuch that the wheel must possess considerable rigidity and 80 ywill stand the abuse met inactual use. Further, theprovision of the peculiar type of bearing for the movable parts of the steering mechanism shown, is such that the power required will be reduced to a minimum. Further, the shield structure shown, will preclude the entrance of all dust and grit and,therefore, the life of my wheel is greatly increased over others. f

l/Vhat I claim, is: l. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub portion, a spindle within said hub portion, a

casing member carried by said spindle, a sectoral raceway formed in said casing, an axle, an arm member carried by said axle and adapted to operate inconjunction with said casing, a complemental sectoral raceway formed in said arm member, vertical chambers formed in one ofl said members and communicating with said raceways, and bearing balls in said raceways and adapted to enter said chambers when the wheel is turned for steering.V

2. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub portion, a spindle within said hub portion, a casing carried by said spindle, sectoral raceways formed in the top and bottom of said casing, an axle, an arm member carried by said axle and adapted to coperate with said casing, complemental raceways formed in said arm member, vertical chambers formed in said arm member and communicating with said raceways, a spring in the bottom of said chambers, and bearing balls fitting in said racewaysand entering said chambers, said'springs bearing on they balls and on the bottom of said chambers.

.3. Avehicle wheel comprising a hub portion, a spindle within said hub portion, a sectoral casing having open ends and formed with a solid back wall and a front wall formed of upwardly and downwardly extending flanges, caps for said .open ends, raceways in the top and bottom of said casing, means for vertically adjusting the distance between said raceways, an axle member, upwardly and downwardly extending arms on said axle, raceways formed in each of said arms, vertical chambers formed in j each of said arms and communicating with said last-named raceWays, springs in the bottom of each of said chambers, and bearing balls fitting in said raceWays and entering said chambers, and Springs bearing against the balls and on the bottom of said chambers.

4. A vehicle Wheel comprising a hub pori tion, a spindle Within said hub portion, a

sectoral supporting member carried by said spindle, an axle, a complemental sectoral member carried by said aXle, raceWays formed in each of said members, bearing balls Working in said raceways, one of said members being formed with Vertical chambers communicating with said raceways, and springs in the base of said chambers, said balls being adapted to be forced into said chambers by relative movement between said members.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

CASSIUS M. BARTHOLOMEW.

Witnesses:

WALTER E. L. BooK, A.. L. PHELPS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

